Kiss Manager Argues Band Can Continue Without Original Members
Kiss manager Doc McGhee has supported frontman Paul Stanley’s assertion that the band can continue without any original members. The topic returned to the spotlight recently after new comments from Stanley, and amid speculation that their plans for “the biggest tour” in their history, planned for 2019, could be branded “The End of the Road.”
“Is there a next-generation Green Hornet?” McGhee said in the interview with The Unwritable Rant (via Blabbermouth, audio below). “Is there a next-generation of Superman? No, there's just fucking Superman. There's been six of them, [but still] it’s Superman. As long as these kids walk out there and they have that makeup and they have that attitude and they have a great fucking visual show...
“This isn't Dark Side Of The Moon,” he continued. “People didn't come here with their fucking headphones on to fucking have this musical experience. They came here to have fun, to see shit blown up, people flying around. It’s fucking Cirque Du Soleil. If you put nothing on stage but talent, they're going to fucking die. That's what Kiss is – Kiss is a way of life.”
He argued that the band’s impact was as large today as it had been for decades, saying: “Every band's a different animal. Kiss is, ‘If it's worth doing, it’s worth overdoing.’ You come to expect that out of Kiss. No matter who I have in my office – CEOs of companies and airlines – they go to the Kiss closet and they’ve got to have something. This happens every day. I had a party one time and brought 100 pairs of Kiss onesie pyjamas. People went out of their fucking minds over it.”
Addressing the changes in the music industry as a result of technological advances, McGhee said: “"I can sit there and tell you that there’s 4.9 million people every month that listen to Kiss around the world. And I can show you where. I can show you what songs. I can show you the demographics. I can show you everything, because the analytics are there. It's taking the gut out of it.
“They're trying to lead with the analytics, which never works... [Managing] is a gut feeling because you're picking the horses to ride. … We're not going to bet on every horse, but we're going to look at the horse and if the horse looks amazing, and then we look down and see the trainer and the jockey and the barn and where it comes from, that gives it a better chance of it happening. … You can have a great song and you can have everything else, but if you're not a star and you don't know how to work, you're dead.”
Meanwhile, Kiss star Gene Simmons has reported that the sexual battery lawsuit against him has been dismissed, and that he’s planning to take action against the unnamed person who launched it. Last November it was reported that Simmons had been accused of inappropriate behavior against a female radio presenter.
“It's already dismissed with prejudice," Simmons told Adelaide Now. “We're going after that person," he continued. "When I was growing up and somebody said something bad about you, you would be able to sue back for slander.… There's presumption of innocence, and I don't go into the night softly. I've had a long 45-year career. Anybody wants to start something, you picked the wrong guy.”